Time To Future-Proof Yourself with Automation, AI and Machine Learning

Have you ever wondered why only the smartest people end up becoming a leader in the room? The problem is, most of us tend to shut down out of deference or fear, whereas those who innovate, take the risk, and morale growing into huge hits. Technology keeps on change, and I can't decide if that is good or bad. I mean it keeps on changing, which is good, but at the same time, once you get to know new technology, the next challenge in-line is the decision to adopt it. Most of the people get into a dilemma at this point.

A common observation is found that we don't want to invest the time to learn new technology, especially if there's a strong chance it will become obsolete in the near future. But when it comes to the Internet of Things, Blockchain, Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning — there is no turning back because they are here to stay!

Automation, AI, Machine learning, IoT, big data are the same buzzwords we have been hearing since a couple of years but do you really think that the lack of novelty should be the sole reason to dismiss them? Probably not, especially after knowing the fact of how these terms have penetrated into our day to day lives. Speaking from a business perspective, integrating these disruptive technologies is no more a passing fad; it has become a norm. Besides, you have better chances of scaling and achieving financial targets. At the same time, your customers will receive a competent, problem-free, and timely service. Let us dig in deep to have a look at what these tech jargons actually mean.

• Automation

As the name implies, the tech does repetitive tasks without any human intervention. It may quite interest you to know that the tech doesn't limit itself to pre-date computing systems but also pre-dates electricity. Several years back, a couple of dreamers and inventors from the ancient culture of Egypt, Persia, Greece, and China came up with the practice of using a machine to control something automatically. No matter how old the concept seems to be, even today, it is used across the globe to increase productivity.

Today, the tech is successfully being used to eliminate all the routine and redundant tasks in a wide range of verticals ranging from businesses to government and beyond. Down below, I would like to mention some real business benefits of including automation.

1. Quality & Consistency — Every action performed identically— results in high quality, reliability. And it is pretty evident that having automation means having customer service follow-up process again and again.
2. Saves Time — There is no denying the fact that manual tasks take time. And we humans always being prone to errors cannot perform to high standards each and every time. Hence, automation comes to the rescue! It allows you to get more done in the same amount of time, significantly increasing productivity.
3. Metric Visibility — Survival of the fittest depends on how you develop and implement a superior strategy. I mean retaining your competitive advantage is not an easy task; it requires that you constantly monitor, evaluate, and modify that strategy — all of which are dependent on access to timely and accurate business data. Often controlled by defined workflows, automation can operate accurately and within your defined timeline.

• Artificial Intelligence

Popularly known as AI for short, Artificial intelligence is said when a system mimics human thinking, reasoning, and decision-making by following logic and rules explicitly programmed by humans. Yeah! It is a safe bet to say we are living in an era when there is a rise of human-made systems featuring intelligence by God-made creatures (humans). By now, you've probably heard tons about artificial intelligence (AI) and the way it's shaping up to be the next big thing in the technology sector. Now I firmly believe that there is no such thing as intelligence in a machine. In addition to this, no machine can ever be imbued with the intelligence of a human being. Machines slavishly follow program conditions that are laid down by a human programmer. Why use artificial intelligence in business?

Today more and more companies are seen adopting artificial intelligence technology (AI) to try to reduce operational costs, increase efficiency, grow revenue, and improve customer experience.

1. Improved personalized experiences — Provide customers with customized marketing increases engagement to generate customer loyalty and improve sales.
2. Automating customer interactions — Most customer interactions, such as emails, online chat, social media conversations, and telephone calls, currently require human involvement. By analyzing data collected from previous communications, AI respond accurately to customers and deal with their inquiries.
3. Real-time assistance — Mainly used among businesses that need to communicate with high volumes of customers throughout each day continually. AI offers real-time interaction where sending personalized travel information such as notice of delays.
4. Operational automation — With the help of AI, operating other technologies becomes way easier. Human-looking robots now serve as where AI is being linked with RFID and cloud technology to track inventory.
5. Prediction — Last but certainly not the least, AI is that it is able to predict outcomes based on data analysis. Whether the product is currently on sale or will likely to be and in what volumes; it automatically sees such patterns in customer data.

• Machine Learning

When a system is able to use data and experiences to make itself smarter over time. Not being separate from artificial intelligence, machine learning elevates AI from a system that follows instructions to one that actually knows how to learn without needing additional explicit programming by humans.

It may quite interest you to know that Google was the first company to realize the true significance of incorporating machine learning in business processes. And you know what it stops at nothing! Down below, I would like to shed some light on three more ways in which machine learning can help various business sectors:

1. Removes physical restrictions — Automating and digitizing business processes remove the physical limitations that restrict growth. Before the technological age, do you think businesses were facing big issues? Of course! Back then, operating within a limited space which is accessible only by a limited number of people was the norm. With the introduction of machine learning and the changing world of e-commerce, we no longer have to worry about running out of shelves.
2. Deeper understanding of your consumers — Today's businesses have become consumer-centric in no time. In order to cater your customer's needs in ways that separate you from your competition, you as a business owner have to understand the needs of your consumers. If you do not deliver what they aren't looking for? Machine learning plays an integral part in solving the mystery of consumer preferences.
3. Cybersecurity — Machine learning can be used to increase the security of an organization as cyber security is one of the major problems solved by machine learning. Here, Ml allows new-generation providers to build newer technologies, which quickly and effectively detect unknown threats.

• Internet of Things

I personally find it fascinating to watch billions of devices talk to each other every day. Speaking about today's evolving IoT marketplace, the services related to those connected things reap more value for businesses in comparison to the past. Hence, the IT industry pioneers are executing new ideas of connecting things and people to deliver new services to the market. Let's see how companies can take advantage of the internet of things:

1. Increased business opportunities — With the emergence of IoT, business opportunities benefit from new revenue streams developed by advanced business models and services. This leads to building strong business cases, reduction in time to market, and increase return on investments — all thanks to IoT-driven innovations.
2. Enhanced Asset utilization — Improved tracking of assets in regards to equipment, machinery, tools, etc. What I mean is using a set of different sensors and connectivity can help organizations benefit from real-time insights. Due to which organizations can easily locate issues in the assets and run preventive maintenance to improve asset utilization.
3. Efficient processes — After being connected with a maximum number of devices to the internet, IoT allows businesses to act smartly with real-time operational insights. At the same time, it also results in reducing operating costs. The data collected from the logistics network, factory floor, and supply chain will help reduce inventory, time to market, and downtime due to maintenance.
4. Improved safety and security — Monitoring the workplace allows you to ensure equipment safety and protect against physical threats- all thanks to IoT services integrated with sensors and video cameras. The IoT connectivity coordinates multiple teams to resolve issues promptly.
5. Increase productivity — Productivity plays a vital role in the profitability of any business. Right from offering just-in-time training for employees to improve labour efficiency, and reduce mismatch of skills while increasing organizational productivity, perks are inevitable.

• Big data

When the large sets of structured and unstructured data are processed on the basis of volume, velocity, and variety and stored is what big data is all about. Indeed considered as a revolution, data analytics features the use of advanced techniques and tools of analytics on the data obtained from different scenarios in different sizes. The use of big data in multiple industries includes banking, healthcare, energy, technology, consumer, manufacturing, and what not! And as for your business:

1. Social listening — This gives you the power to determine who is saying what about your business. Yes, publicity can be controlled by you.
2. Comparative analysis — With the help of Big data, you need to compare your products, services, and overall brand authority with your competitors. This can be done simply by cross-examining user behaviour metrics and seeing how consumers are engaging with businesses in your sector in real-time.
3. Marketing analytics — Start using Google Analytics (GA); it will certainly help you in promoting new products, services, or initiatives to your target audience; of course in a more informed, innovative way.
4. Customer satisfaction — Enhancing the usability of your website and boost customer engagement becomes easy, all done by analyzing big data from a multitude of sources. These metrics will also help you iron out any potential customer issues. And this happens, before they have a chance to go viral, preserving brand loyalty and vastly improve your customer service efforts across a host of channels such as phone, email, chat and social.

This is how businesses can be benefitted by merging Automation, AI, and Machine Learning

Although the growth of these aforementioned disruptive technologies seems to have to move along at a slower pace because people have realized the fact that this network of smart 'things' is far harder than they could have imagined. But that certainly doesn't mean that there are no other ways through which these technologies can blend and function together. In fact, combining them will bring the ultimate and strongest use cases across the globe.

Like I said before the primary purpose of using AI is to understand the data provided by the user like human intelligence and take action based on that. They are mainly being utilized to make sense of the information and elicit intelligent thought. If we delve deep into the financial sector, you may find that the sector has long been in search of end-to-end solutions in the credit cycle. Due to which the entire lending processes have been shortened, improving customer satisfaction at the same time. From the application, pre-qualifying, evaluation, approval, and loans settlement stage, every bottleneck has been eliminated.

In addition to this, voluminous data can be sorted out, enabling professionals to take a well-informed decision. Machine learning, at the same time, allows companies to save an adequate amount on labour costs and man-hours. ML performs the credit analysis task amid the large volume of transactions. The cognitive computing technology present in ML can also detect and predict fraud. Apart from loans management, the tech is also being used in other business units such as funds and risk management, treasury, and customer service. Here I would like to offer a few exciting venues worth exploring. Take a look!

Self-driving cars — Volkswagen

The time has come when AI algorithms will replace human drivers in cars. Of course, the technology still has challenges to overcome, and every once in a while, you get to read about crashes and incidents that involve self-driving car test programs.

But it may also interest you to know that the industry is poised on ironing the kinks and rolling out self-driving cars to the masses in the next few years. On and all, the field of autonomous driving has drawn the interest of not only big and emerging tech companies but also traditional car makers.

German automotive giant Volkswagen has its own AI labs, where its experts on working on a range of projects, including the enhancement of the way self-driving cars see and react to events that happen around them. In early 2018, the car maker partnered with self-driving car startup Aurora to accelerate the development of its fleet of self-driving cars.

Healthcare — Philips

Deploying AI in medicine and healthcare has a wide range of perks right from making healthcare services available to more people diagnosing and treating diseases faster and with more precision. A long-standing tech company named Philips is set to reshape the entire health care cycle, from assisting health care providers to achieve better outcomes to helping consumers manage their own health and adopt healthier lifestyles. Having a long history of developing hardware and software solutions for consumers, patients, clinicians, and health institutions, the company has several working AI-powered solutions at different levels, including research, diagnosis and treatment, home care and population health management.

Computer vision — Panasonic

With robots and AI becoming more and more involved in interactions with the physical world, they need to understand better what's going on around them. The field of computer vision is a subset of AI that helps computers analyze the content of images and video and distinguish different objects. Panasonic, One of the companies actively involved in developing computer vision collaborates with research centres and universities to develop deep learning technologies. Currently, it has been working on pedestrian detection for autonomous vehicles and automatic inspection of dams through highly detailed image analysis.

EndNote

Nearly all industries need automation, AI, and machine learning. And there is no denying in the fact that how they are shaping businesses and hold promise to improve a company's efficiency in anything from HR to marketing, data analysis to customer service. So what are you waiting for! Time to build that Fourth Industrial Revolution — let's keep the fingers crossed!

About the author

Rooney Reeves is a Technical Geek. She has expertise in cloud computing, data science, entrepreneurship and project management. Currently, she is working at Mobile App Development Company India etatvasoft.com. She likes to play chess and explore new places. Also, She’s a person with high spirit and fond of social activities.

Image courtesy of E-arc.com